Facebook Blocks Posts in Thailand

For many people, Facebook is the internet however others who rely on the social network for news and views may not be aware that Facebook isn’t immune to internet censorship itself.

Mashable reports that Facebook is geo-censoring posts that may be deemed inappropriate by the Thai government.

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Facebook confirmed to Mashable that it does work with governments to remove posts and is doing all it can to stay within the confines of local law.

Tech Crunch reports that Thailand’s lèse-majesté law prevents criticism of the country’s royal family, and it looks like it is being used to suppress postings from a number of high-profile users who are writing about the transition to a new king, including journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall whose 2014 book on the Thai royal family was banned and branded a “danger to national security and peaceful and orderly society.”

Freedom House, a U.S. think tank that monitors global freedoms, noted that Thailand’s internet and media are “not free.” It reports that the Internet freedom declined in 2016 as the military leadership continued its efforts to codify censorship and surveillance powers through legislation.